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Energy-efficient houses are designed to reduce electricity. However, a gap between theoretical and actual energy performance of buildings is often observed. Achieving energy efficiency through regulatory norms is insufficient, and ways must be found to change people’s behaviours. In this line, normative feedback could be a powerful tool to reduce r...
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Il miglioramento dell'infrastruttura digitale previsto dal Piano Nazionale di Ripresa e Re-silienza (PNRR) prospetta per il settore residenziale nuove opportunità di riduzione dei consumi energetici basate sul comportamento dell'utente. La dotazione di strumenti intelligenti per il monitoraggio energetico consentirebbe di migliorare il comfort indo...
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... Ensuring that the implementation process is transparent, inclusive, and equitable can help mitigate these concerns. By involving residents in decision-making and ensuring that costs and benefits are fairly distributed, landlords can foster a sense of ownership and support for the transition to heat pump technology [72]. ...
Many countries around the world have rolled out energy efficiency programs and incentives to encourage the adoption of energy-efficient technologies, including heat pumps. Currently, the academic investigation of heat pump technology implementation in Australia, particularly within the social housing sector, is quite sparse. This knowledge gap is particularly evident in the realm of comprehending user acceptance related to comfort, operating and capital costs, and the ability to operate and the extent to which occupants in social housing embrace and adapt to this technological advancement. This paper aims to systematically review studies that have surveyed users and other stakeholders involved in the heat pump ecosystem within the social housing setting. The key objective is to investigate the impact of heat pump installation in social housing on tenant well-being, focusing on the reduction of energy costs, improvements in indoor comfort, and tenant perceptions of financial and social barriers. By analysing 69 studies, this paper identifies the critical challenges and opportunities in integrating heat pump systems into social housing. The key findings emphasise that tenant education, effective communication, and engagement are essential for maximising the benefits of heat pumps. Furthermore, the financial feasibility of heat pumps depends on government incentives and careful system design to avoid excessive upfront and operational costs. This review offers a comprehensive guide for future research and policy development, aiming to facilitate the integration of heat pumps in social housing, with a focus on improving tenant well-being and reducing energy poverty.
... It is unknown how many tenants used this opportunity, though a similar Swedish case study after an energy renovation in rental housing with smart metering found that only about 5% logged into the system [32]. Several attempts to design feedback systems to reduce energy use in rental housing have been reported, but it has proven difficult to find the right concept [33,34]. In the present study, the tenants did not seem to be motivated as the heating costs were included in the rent, although they had to pay extra if they raised their indoor temperatures in the winter. ...
Sustainable housing that both creates good indoor environmental quality (IEQ) and avoids unnecessary energy use has proved difficult to realize. Renovations of multifamily houses provide an opportunity to find this balance. This study concerns whether tenants perceive that conditions for achieving sufficient IEQ with low energy use exist. Focus group interviews with 42 participants, in areas where the rents were in the lower range and included heating up to 21 °C, aimed to capture the tenants' perceptions of: IEQ and actions taken to regulate it; information and control; the connections between IEQ and energy use; and the role of the housing company. Good IEQ was crucial to interviewees, who described it as sufficient heat without draughts, ability to ventilate, and no disturbing sounds or smells. The main responsibility was attributed to the housing company, but daily regulation controlled by tenants. However, unclear interfaces between tenants and the systems that regulate IEQ make it difficult for tenants to act as a positive part of the system. Tenants did not link IEQ to energy use. A holistic view of the physical environment's affordances, including intuitive interfaces, could optimize the balance between good IEQ and energy use.
... New methods to assess the amount of energy saved according to the retrofit intervention and minimising uncertainty are emerging in literature [103] , such as artificial neural networks [104] and multiobjective optimisation [105] . Recently, the findings of the impact of occupants on energy consumption have encouraged authors to consider campaigns of changing the occupant behaviour as an energy conservation measure as well [106][107][108][109] . ...
... Thus, a clear and wellinformed framework is crucial to guarantee the programme effectiveness [216] . This statement is supported by the study of Rubens et al. [107] , which highlights the need for educating occupants to enhance the performance of the building. For this effort, educational tools and technologies can be taken into consideration [217] . ...
... Benchmarking Hourly [161] Monthly [156-159 , 180 , 183 , 232] Annually [22 , 36 , 160 , 162-164 , 168 , 169 , 172 , 179 , 181 , 182 , 208 , 232-238] Regulations, directives and guidance for the building stock Weekly [107] Monthly [198 , 199 , 205 , 209 , 219 , 239 , 240] Annually [196 , 200 , 203 , 210 , 213 , 215 , 218] Table 7 Summary of methods and tools used for the stock-level analysis. ...
This paper aimed to review the literature of the past ten years about the energy performance of buildings during their operational stage. The focus of this review was empirical works that examined the energy use in real buildings. An overview of the literature survey is presented. A meta-analysis technique allowed the identification of two approaches of study: building-level analysis and stock-level analysis. The building-level analysis considers the building as the system of study. Otherwise, the stock-level analysis considers a group of buildings as the subject of study while the buildings are elements inside the system. Notable research topics were addressed involving performance gap, energy audit, retrofit savings assessment, Zero Energy Buildings (ZEB), benchmarking, regulations and strategies to overcome climate change. This literature review summarised the level of information of the studies by listing the granularity of the energy performance data according to the purpose of the study. Furthermore, a specific section was dedicated to assemble the methods and tools adopted. Finally, we proposed conceptual models for both approaches (building and stock-level) that outlined the main aspects and dynamics identified in this literature review. Thus, we obtained insights to be investigated in further studies.
En los últimos años el uso de información normativa –normas sociales para la promoción de la conducta proambiental ha recibido una atención notable, mostrando un gran potencial para la intervención psicosocial. Este artículo pretende transferir y hacer accesible los principales resultados de los estudios sobre información normativa para incentivar el desarrollo de programas de intervención de carácter medioambiental. Se revisan los conceptos de normas sociales descriptivas y prescriptivas, así como las principales recomendaciones para que su uso en aplicaciones prácticas sea efectivo. Se atiende también a factores que afectan la efectividad de las normas sociales en la promoción de la conducta proambiental: uso de retroalimentación conductual, carácter dinámico de la norma e implicación personal. Las normas sociales suponen una importante aportación de la psicología ambiental para la intervención en la problemática ambiental.
In recent years, the use of normative information—social norms—for promoting pro-environmental behavior has received remarkable attention, showing great potential for psychosocial interventions. This paper makes research on normative information accessible with the aim of translating it into pro-environmental programs and public policy. The concepts of descriptive and prescriptive social norms are reviewed, as well as the main recommendations for their effective use in applied contexts. A number of factors found relevant for effective normative interventions on pro-environmental behavior are discussed: the use of behavioral feedback, the dynamic character of the norms, and personal involvement. Social norms represent an important contribution from environmental psychology to the intervention on environmental problems.
